Outdoors Notebook: Antelope and elk hunting also approved
April 3, 2009
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The Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday voted to open a black bear hunting season beginning Oct. 1 in four southeastern Oklahoma counties.
The bear season (archery and muzzleloader only) is contingent upon lawmakers passing a black bear hunting license, but commissioners on Wednesday also created two other new hunting seasons that do not need legislative approval.
Bow hunters will get a two-week archery season for antelope in the Panhandle beginning Sept. 14. In northeastern Oklahoma, elk hunting will be allowed on private lands. Read more
State limits deer hunting
February 25, 2009
The Western News
A decline in the population of northwestern Montana’s white-tailed deer prompted the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission last week to limit hunting opportunities. Read more
Information Sought in Suspicious Wolf Death in Arizona
January 28, 2009
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agents recovered the body of a dead adult female Mexican gray wolf on January 19, 2009, on State Highway 260, between Horseshoe Cienega Lake and A-1 Lake on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, near Pinetop, Ariz. This wolf apparently died from a gunshot wound, and its body appeared to have been dumped alongside the highway. Its death is currently being investigated.
The area where F836 of the Moonshine Pack was discovered saw heavy use over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, as a large number of people traveled Highway 260 between Pinetop and Springerville. If anyone saw a vehicle that was stopped, or was being driven slowly, between Horseshoe Cienega Lake and A-1 Lake, or has any information that could be helpful in finding the person(s) responsible for the death of this wolf, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service /Office of Law Enforcement at (928) 339-4232 or the White Mountain Apache Tribe dispatch at 928-338-1023 or their Wildlife & Outdoor Recreation Division at (928) 338-4385 ext. 231.
The Service and its partners are offering a monetary reward for information leading to the apprehension of individual(s) responsible for the death of this wolf. Persons reporting information may be kept anonymous.
The Moonshine Pack was released into the wild in November, 2008 in the area between Alpine and Hannagan Meadow, Ariz. The pack split shortly afterwards, and F836 traveled over a large area from north of Luna, N.M., to a few miles west of Springerville, Ariz. F836 was last located alive on January 17, near the South Fork of the Little Colorado River west of Springerville.
“Every wolf we have helped put back on the landscape deserves a chance to survive in the wild,” said Benjamin N. Tuggle, PhD, Regional Director for the Service’s Southwest Region. “All of our available law enforcement resources will be used to conduct a comprehensive investigation in collaboration with our partners. These investigations are extensive and recently lead to the U.S. attorney’s office agreeing to prosecute an individual who killed a wolf in New Mexico. We feel confident that our investigations will identify the responsible parties and they will be brought to justice.”
The Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Project is a cooperative effort administered by six co-lead agencies: Arizona Game and Fish Department, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, White Mountain Apache Tribe, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, USDA Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These agencies function as an Adaptive Management Oversight Committee. This management approach provides opportunities for participation by local governments, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals from all segments of the public.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.
Service Removes Western Great Lakes, Portion of Northern Rocky Mountain Gray Wolf Populations from Endangered Species List
January 28, 2009
Wolves in Wyoming to Remain Protected by Endangered Species Act
Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett announced today the removal of the western Great Lakes population and portions of the northern Rocky Mountain population of gray wolves from protection under the Endangered Species Act. The success of gray wolf recovery efforts in these areas has contributed to expanding populations of wolves that no longer require the protection of the Act. However, gray wolves found within the borders of Wyoming will continue to be protected by the Act due to a lack of adequate regulatory mechanisms ensuring their protection under state law. Read more
Ultralight-led Whooping Cranes Arrive at Florida Wintering Grounds
January 28, 2009
Breaking news from US Fish and Wildlife Service
Whooping Cranes inflight to Florida
Fourteen endangered whooping cranes and their surrogate parents, four ultralight aircraft, have arrived at their wintering grounds in Florida after a trek of more than 1,200 miles through seven states. Read more
East coast horseshoe crabs poised for recovery
May 27, 2008
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Restrictions by U.S. east coast states on harvesting horseshoe crabs, whose eggs provide food for endangered migrating shore birds, have boosted the animal’s population after years of over-fishing, experts say.
Some experts have linked a decline in migratory shore birds to the over-fishing of horseshoe crabs, which come ashore every spring to lay their eggs, so Delaware, New Jersey and other nearby states turned their attention to boosting crab numbers.
Until the last few years, the crabs were harvested in their millions by commercial fishermen who used them as bait for conch and eel. But with ornithologists warning that the red knot, a robin-sized shore bird, was in imminent danger of extinction because of the lack of crab eggs, the states where the crabs spawn have banned or restricted the harvest.
New Jersey imposed a two-year moratorium on the crab harvest and then banned it altogether earlier this year, while Delaware allows only males to be harvested, and restricts those numbers.
The population of male crabs on Delaware beaches has now risen to 4.22 per square meter (11 square feet) from 2.50 in 1999, while female numbers have risen to 0.89 from 0.77, said Stewart Michels, a fisheries scientist at the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife.
“We are very optimistic that the significant increase is a good sign of things to come,” Michels said.
Delaware’s crab harvest declined to around 77,000 in 2007 from 487,000 in 1995, while the numbers taken on the East Coast as a whole, dropped to 817,000 in 2007 from around 3 million in 1995, Michels said.
The crabs are also used by biomedical companies that use their blood to extract a substance used to detect fever-causing bacteria in humans.
The number of red knot stopping over on Delaware Bay beaches during their 10,000-mile (16,000-km) migration from south America to Arctic Canada each spring has dropped in recent years to around 15,000, a number that scientists say is below that needed to sustain the species.
Scientists hope that if they can save the red knot, they will also be able to help other species such as ruddy turnstone and semi-palmated sandpiper, whose numbers have also declined because of the dwindling number of crab eggs.
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